What a whirlwind of information swirling around the planet this week!  Let me take you through a timeline:

Friday, Jan 15:  I received an email concerned about our CUSD Health Plan and the current Congressional Health Bill.  Also talk of if we had a “Cadillac plan” or not, and taxes.

Sunday, Jan. 17:  Columnist Bill McEwen writes in the Fresno Bee about the tax exemption deal that is proposed for union members in the latest version of health care reform.

Tuesday, Jan. 19:  Approx. 8am, received an email with questions about the McEwen column.  Later that day, Republican candidate Scott Brown upsets the democratic favorite in Massachusetts election.

Wednesday, Jan. 20:  President Obama interviewed by George Stephanopoulos says they lost sight of what the American people wanted, and may need to take a step back….

In the span one week, the future of the health care plans in Washington changed dramatically, and it’s not clear yet just exactly what will happen…or when. I thought it would be a good idea, however, for me to clarify some terms and questions that might be floating around out there.

What is a “Cadillac plan” and do we have one?  CUSD does have what (under current government definition) qualifies as a ‘Cadillac plan’.  A ‘Cadillac plan’ is defined by the cost of the premiums, not the coverage.  I found a fairly good explanation on a site run by Kaiser Health News (not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente), a nonprofit news organization focusing on health care issues. 

What’s this about a tax break for unions?  That was just one piece of the latest plan.  Part of the thinking is that union members have given up raises to preserve health care over the years.  I would venture to say that many employees—union or not—have done the same.  That is an empty argument as far as I am concerned.  The tax would be applied to insurers, not consumers.  (Although, we all know any cost incurred by businesses have a way of trickling down to the consumer in many different forms.)  Analysts are in disagreement over how this plan would affect those who “self-insure”, as we do in CUSD.  It would appear then, that there are several things wrong with this piece of the puzzle.  Just on the philosophical side of things, there are people concerned that large segments of the population do not have affordable health care available to them.  If you ‘fix’ it by offering a tax incentive to some but not to all, you’ve only created another segment of the population getting something others don’t.  How is that right?  It probably isn’t, and might even be unconstitutional.  There are also a lot of folks in government that think employees should be taxed on their total compensation, not just their wages.  That plays into this as well.  In my opinion, this is all part of the same backroom politics that got Nebraska their sweet deal. 

What is the impact of all this to our current health plan?  Don’t know.  Don’t know because the proposals change often, and much has been done in secret.  From what I hear, watching C-Span isn’t terribly helpful.  Bits and pieces of the congressional bill leak out, and no one knows the full picture. Even the Senate and the House can’t agree.  Now, with the political landscape changing, the only thing to be certain of is that there will be more change.  My advice?  Write to someone in Washington and tell them what you think.  I did.

 —LisaMarie